Lesson Plan Format for

Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE)

with SIOP Elements

Grade/Class/Subject:3rd Grade, Social Studies Teacher: Loren Austin

Time/Duration of the lesson: 1 hour

 This lesson is one part of a longer lesson.
o The students have already had a lesson on what composting is and what materials can be
composted
o The lesson will continue, after this lesson

English Language Proficiency of Students:

Native English Speaking students as well as bridging English speakers

Standards:
Social Studies:
 3.1(2)Trace the ways in which people have used the resources of the local region and modified the
physical environment (e.g., a dam constructed upstream changed a river or coastline).
Science:
 LS4.C: Adaptation
o For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less
well, and some cannot survive at all. (3-LS4-3)

Unit/Theme:
Protecting the environment,
Composting

Lesson Topic:
What is composting?

Objectives: You must include content objectives and language objectives as indicated below.
(What will students be able to do at the end of the lesson?)

Content: At the end of the lesson students will be able to have a better understanding of what it
means to compost.

Language: Students will verbally identify what materials are used in composting. Eg. What
materials can be composted. This can include, but is not limited to, food scraps like apples,
egg shells, coffee grounds, etc.

Key Vocabulary:
-Compost
-Materials
-Waste
Supplementary Materials:
-Two large sized clear containers with lids
-Earthworms
-composting materials: coffee grinds, vegetables, fruit, etc.

Technology in Support of Learning:

N/A

Anticipated Misunderstandings/Difficulties:
-Misunderstandings of the items that can be used to compost

Element
Describe what will happen.
Pre-Assessment of Students’ Knowledge or Ability:
This will start the week before, as students will be asked
to bring in materials from around the house that they
would like to use.
This lesson:
Students will be asked a series of questions.
- Who can remind me what composting is?
- What materials can be composted?
- What do we need to be able to compost?
- How can we compost materials?
Motivation (Warm-up):
As a class we will read the story Compost Stew? By
Mary McKenna Siddals
Making connections to the book, we will talk about wat
composting does. This includes, what happens to these
items when they are not composted versus what happens
when they are composted. And what composting does
for the environment.
Rationale
Why did you choose to do it this way?
This will also be a way to get the students
excited about the upcoming lesson.
By asking these students these questions, the
instructor is able to gage how much the
students know. By allowing them to answer
with their knowledge they are also connecting
to the materials.
Reading this story will allow the students to
connect with the material in the lesson. They
will see the way that the students in the book
use the compost and make connections to the
one we will be doing.

Then we will discuss the ways that this book is similar

to what we have disused in class.
Students will be asked what they have brought into class
to put in our compost stew.
Students will volunteer to show the class what materials
they have brought into class as a composting material to
use in our compost stew.
Presentation (Instruction): Going over the vocabulary first will ensure
We will briefly go over the key vocabulary once again. students understanding.
-Compost
-Material
-Waste
The main portion will be spent discussing what is
needed in a compost stew.
-We need the compostable materials, such as left-over
food, coffee grounds, egg shells, and earth worms.
-We will then discuss why the earthworms are necessary,
what they do.
Practice/Application:
Using both the materials that have been provided in
class, as well as the materials that they have brought to
the class from home, as a class we will construct two
different composting bins. One will have soil and
garbage materials, the other will have soil, garbage
materials, and earthworms.
Post-Assessment:
Assessment for this lesson will mainly be done through
informal conversation. This would be through
conversations done between the students as well as the
students ability to answer questions.
Extension:
This lesson will continue over the next 2-3 weeks, as
students observe the changes taking place in the
containers. Students will be keeping track of what is
happening in the container with the earthworms,
compare to the one without the earthworms.
Differentiating Instruction for EL focus student:
 Vocabulary words would be presented in the
front of the classroom.
Differentiating Instruction for a focus student with
Special Needs:
A student in the classroom has a special need of a
hearing impairment.
In order to support this student, visual aids will be
provided. This student will be provided with a printed
version of the vocabulary words.
Allowing the students to use materials from
home, will allow them to connect to the
lesson. This will make them more invested in
the transition through compost.
This assessment will allow the instructor to
more deeply understand where the students
are struggling. Through the questioning as
well as casual conversation the teacher will
listen for key words and definitions through
the student’s conversations.
This extension will allow the students to
further their understanding of the subject. This
is done by allowing the students to physically
view, and compare what is happening through
the composting.
The presentation of the vocabulary words will
assist not only the EL students but the native
English speakers as well.
These visual aids will allow students to focus
on the material being taught rather than
hearing the material.